Torch for welding seams along curving surfaces



Feb. 25, 1936. E N I 2,031,583

TORCH FOR WELDING SEAMS ALONG CURVING SURFACES Original Filed Aug. 1,1931 2 SheetsSf1'eet 1 I 1 16 I H 116 4 22 1 4e 7 5 f9 flip/273614110Feb. 25, 1936. J. L. ANDERSON 2,031,533

TORCH FOR WELDING SEAMS ALONG CURVING SURFACES Original Filed Aug. 1,1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.5. I'jg. 9.

Patented Feb. 25, 1936 UNITED STATES ronon FOR WELDING SEAMS ALONGcunvme SURFACES James L. Anderson, Closter, N. 3., assignor to AirReduction Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of NewYork Original application August 1, 1931, Serial No.

554,459. Patent No. 1,972,509, dated- Septemher 4, 1934.

Divided and this application November 17, 1932, Serial No. 643,069

8 Claims.

The invention relates to torches for welding seams along curvingsurfaces.

The invention is intended primarily for buttwelding opposed end edges ofpipe or tubular sections during relative movement of the torch andcircumferential seam. The invention will be described in connection withsuch welding, but it is also useful for welding sheet or plate metalparts generally, along curving edges or portions, when such curvingedges or portions are substantially of the same curvature so that theymay be brought into contiguous relation, either edge to edge oroverlapping, in accordance with the type of joint desired.

In making circumferential welds of the abutting edges cf pipe or tubesections, where the pipe sections rotate under a torch located along theupper part of the seam, I have found it advantageous to regulate theheating stages so that the fused metal will become plastic, or congeal,in time to effect the weld near the crest of the movement of the seamedges. In order to accomplish this the metal must be brought to fusiontemperature before reaching the crest, and congelation must occur beforethe metal in its fluid condition passes so far beyond the crest that itwill flow freely down the pipe walls. The tendency of the metal to flowby gravity can be used to produce a weld of a desired fullness orcontour.

I have also found that to insure a Weld of substantially homogeneouscomposition, in which the crystalline character of the weld does notvary abruptly, it is very advantageous that preheating of the metaloccur at much greater distances from the seam edges than ordinarilythought advisable to bring the seam metal to fusion. An advantage ofsuch preheating is the substantial absence of any demarcation betweenmetal which has been molten during the fusing step and the other metal;To assist in obtaining this result, I have found it desirable to cutdown by melting the ordinary straight-faced trough formed by the bevelededges to form a rounded trough.

An object of this invention is to provide a torch tip by which weldingtemperatures are created along the seam at the abutted end edges of pipeor tube members, while the seam moves past the tip at a predeterminedspeed, in a manner which produces substantially all of the desirableresults obtained from manipulation of the heating jet by manualoperation in which the jet is moved back and forth across the work tosuccessively strike the metal at different points over a substantialarea. In the preferred embodiment of the invention the tip is designedto conform closely to the contour of the circumferential seam operatedupon to secure the maximum efficiency from the heating effects of theflame jets. The formation of the face of the tip and the orificedrilling are such that the jets issuing from the orifices, or certain ofthem, will act to force their heated gases forwardly along the seam, andbeyond the body of the tip to increase the ef- 10 fective distance ofpreheating without increase in tip length. Other orifices are disposedto direct their jets so as to concentrate their heating effect at theposition where fusion is finally to take place. Such jets also functionto force any molten metal that may form to travel along the seam in thedirection of the jets. Since it is proposed to effect melting of metalon an upwardly traveling portion of the seam, such propulsion of themetal will tend to drive it to the crest of movement, there to take partin the final production of the weld. The jets are also arranged in suchconsecutive relation that the molten metal formed will be driven alongthe seam until it arrives at a predetermined position at which the jetswill produce the effect of hand manipulation, spreading the metallaterally to give to the weld a finally desired fiat, smooth finish or acurved reinforcement.

The operation of successive jets on the molten metal is such that bystriking the surface of the metal at different points the jets actuallyeffect a mechanical working of the metal which removes impurities.

The drilling of the orifices is also such that some of the jets willimpinge directly upon metal widely removed laterally from the seam. Abroad zone of hot metal will thus be erected, and conduction from thevery hot molten metal to the comparatively very cold body metal will bere- 40 duced to a minimum.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will appear orbe pointed out as the specification proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof:

Fig.1 is a side elevation of a torch tip made in accordance with thisinvention, located in position for welding a circumferential pipe seam;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the tip shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an end elevational view of a tip as seen from the line 3-3 ofFig. 1; and

Figs. 4 to 17, inclusive, are vertical transverse 5 radial plane.

section not appearing in this view. Portions of the two pipe sections,both marked l2, are shown in Figs. 4-17. The unwelded seam is of thetrough type, formed by bevel faces, at the bottom' of which are smallvertical faces. The orifice face I3 of the torch tip, at least in part,follows closely the contour of the seam and in this instance thecircumferential contour of the pipe sections. It is customary that thetip remain stationary, while the sections, preliminarily tackedtogether, rotate past the jets issuing from the tip.

In the body of the tip are longitudinal header passages M, from whichthe orifices in the face I 3 are to be fed amixture of oxygen andacetylene. Another pair of passages |5 provide means for conductingcooling water supplied by conduits l6 through the body. A diagonal ductI1 is formed through the body to conduct a wire l8 to supply added metalto be melted into the seam.

It will be necessary to consider each individual flame jet orifice orpairs of orifices, since the functions of the jets differ. As shown inFig. 4, the jets I9, issuing from the laterally divergent orifices 20,at the forward end of the torch are disposed to attack the metal of thepipe sections at a considerable distance away from the junction edge ofthe surface 2| of the section and the beveled face 22. v These jets meetsurface 2| at an angle, directed outwardly, so that the hot gases of thejets will be swept over the surface away from the seam and will heat theparts widely. The jets are located immediately above the upwardly movingportion of the seam and at a substantial distance below the crest ofmovement. Their angle of incidence upon surface 2| results in a flow ofthe hot gases downwardly along the curving section wall faces,increasing the amount of metal preheated. B'y thus increasing thedistance at which preheat of the metal is effective, the length of tipI0 is kept within reasonable bounds while a large portion of the surfaceand the underlying metal are heated to some semblance of uniformity,which, in addition to its heat value, also reduces local ized expansiveand contractive effects upon the seam.

Jets 23 issuing fro'm orifices 24 have substantially the same outwardangular disposition as jets l9, but as shown in Fig. 1 these orificesare inclined longitudinally away from the orifices 20, so that the jets23 are directed more nearly in a Jets 25 from orifices 28 are disposedsubstantially in the same manner as jets 23, except that they haveslightly less of the outward tendency. Jets 23 and 25, aided by thepreliminary action of jets l9, increase the heat in I the metal adjacentthe seam edges 22.

Orifices 21 which deliver jets 28 are disposed in crossed relation toeach other to drive the jet gases outwardly away from the seam. Bydisposing these jets in this manner, the sides of the jets are opposedto the face of the metal, so that, in addition to the heat absorbed bydirect contact of the hot gases with the metal, the path of radiant heatfrom the jets to the faces is shortened.

This is also the case with the jets 29 which issue from crossingorifices 30. The disposition of these jets and orifices is substantiallythe same as that of jets 28 and orifices 21, except that the points ofimpingement upon the surface are closer to'the junction edges of theseam. These jets constitute the last units in the preheating system forbringing the metal to fusing temperature.

Jets 3| issuing from orifices 32 constitute the first set of activemeans intended to fuse metal. These jets are disposed to strike directlyin the trough between the sections. By the time these jets becomeeffective, the temperature of the metal will have become such that abreakdown or melting of the trough faces will commence, so that whenthese faces pass on to the action of jets 33 issuing from orifices 34considerable melting will be in progress.

'As seen in Figs. 9 and 10, the relative angular disposition within eachgroup of jets 3| and 32 is different, jets 32 being more nearly parallelthan jets 3|, and the separation of the jets 32 consequently beingmaterially greater so that the heating effect is moved upwardly andoutwardly from the bottom of the trough to break down the upper portionsof the walls of the V. The effect of the jets 3| is very useful, sincemelting metal at the bottomof the groove is more diflicult than otherportions of the weld to be produced. These jets and the subsequent jetsproduce the desired rounding of the trough.

The succeeding pairs of jets 35 and 31 delivered from orifices 36 and 38are converged again toward the bottom of the groove. These jets serve tokeep molten such metal as has already been melted and has collected inthe bottom of the groove. Their deflected gases and their radiant heatalso melt down more of the metal of the sides of the trough.

n is also to be noted that jets 33, as and 31 aredisposed to directtheir gases in the direction in which the seam is. moving past tip In.The metal melted by these jets will, by the pressure of the gases, beforced to move forwardly along the seam and be retained against movingbackward down the incline of the pipe walls. As the seam moves towardthe crest of its rotation, such metal will be driven into the puddle'39, forming just beyond these jets.

Jets 40 issuing'from orifices 4| continue the work of jets 35 and 31,their inward inclination being less so that they attack themetal'further removed from the center of the seam than do jets 35 and31. This changing of the relative positions of impingement of theseveral jets with relation to the center line of the seam results in amovement of the molten metal and a heating of the general mass of metalin a manner similar to that accomplished by one manipulating a handtorch, proper melting of the sides of the groove, as well as fusion atthe bottom of the groove, being produced.

As illustrated in Figs. 10, 11, 12 and 13, during the action of therespective jets, while the puddle of molten metal 42 is retained inposition by the jets, metal 43 is continuously solidifying to build upthe final welded joint. To make up for metal loss and build up the weld,wire I8 is fed through duct H. To bring this wire' to meltingtemperature before it contacts with the molten metal at the seam, andsimultaneously to assist in retaining the molten metal at the seam infused condition, is the purpose of jets 44 delivered by orifices 45. Asshown in Fig. 14, these jets impinge upon and wipe the side faces of thewire, so that it will be subjected to the direct and radiant heat ofboth jets. At the same time, owing 'it down into the seam.

At the next set of orifices 41 the direction of jets 48 changes from theextreme convergence of jets 44, and the jets 48 act directly upon themolten metal in the seam, their eflect by their transverse spacing beingto assist in the complete interfusion of the wire metal with the rest ofthe metal in the groove. These jets are dis posed practically in aradial plane, so that little or no unbalanced longitudinal disturbanceof the molten metal will occur. These jets are intended to attack themolten metal immediately at, just,

before, or just after the crest of movement of the seam edges. Thedetermining factors in this case would arise with each separatesituation, suitable adjusting means for positioning the torch tip as aunit being provided. Among these factors are the relative speed ofmovement of the seam past the tip, the number of jets utilized to bringthe metal to fusion before this position, and the thickness of the pipewalls.

Since, as is well known, the action of the flame jets has been to forcethe metal into a ridge or hump, which in many cases is undesirable, jets49 are directed from orifices 50 and, as seen in Fig. 16, act againsteach other, so that as they impinge directly upon the central ridgebuilt up by the previous jets they will tend to spread such metaloutwardly, thus in effect flattening the metal to produce the smoothformation shown in Fig. 17. The fillets between the melted and theunmelted metal are gradual, so that the weld does not suffer from sharpcorners or other weak ening influences. Also, these jets retain themetal in molten condition for a sufllcient period, so that the puddle 42extends slightly beyond the crest of movement onto the downgoing side ofthe pipe, so that by proper regulation of speed and the position of thetip relative to the crest the fullness of the finally solidified metalwill be predetermined.

The spacing between jets 49 and the final single jet 5! from orifice 52is such that the molten metal will have had the opportunity to congealpractically entirely, the effect of jet 5| being to delay the completecooling and rigidification of the metal, so that slower crystalizationwill result, and greater strength in the metal. Also, this jet will tendto effect a final molding of the weld.

This application is a division of my application Serial NO. 554,459,filed August 1, 1931 (Patent No. 1,972,509, dated September 4, 1934).

The preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated anddescribed but changes in the number of orifices and other modificationscan be made, and various features of the invention can be used alone orin combination with other features without departing from the inventionas defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A torch for welding a seam by relative movement of the torch andseam, the torch having a face and a plurality of jet orifices in theface for directing flames against the work, succcessive jet orificeslengthwise of the torch face being disposed to direct the flames tostrike the metal at different points, the successive jets being firstprogressively closer to the center line of the seam, then further fromsaid center line and from each other, and then progressively closeragain whereby the heat is applied to the metal with the same effect asby moving a single jet transversely of the seam as the seam moveslongitudinally with respect to the single jet.

2. A tip for circumferentially welding pipe sections positioned in endto end relation, said ends being fomied so that when in abuttingrelation a substantial groove is presented thereby, which comprises: abody having a face with a plurality of jet orifices opening therefromand arranged in a series, the first group of orifices being so disposedthat flame jets issuing therefrom are directed downward onv oppositesides of but close to the region under the center line of the torch faceso that the jets impinge upon the walls of the pipe sections in closerelation to the ends, succeeding orifices disposed to direct jetsfurther from the center region so that the jets therefrom direct heatoutwardly along the pipe walls away from the section ends beyond theportions affected by the preceding jets, and succeeding orificesdisposed to project jets at said center region to attack directly thewalls of the groove.

3. A tip for circumferentially welding pipe sections positioned in endto end relation, said ends being formed 'so that when in abuttingrelation a substantial groove is presented thereby, which comprises: abody having a face with a plurality of jet orifices opening therefromand arranged in'a series, the first group of orifices being so disposedthat flame jets issuing therefrom are directed downward on oppositesides of but close to the region under the center line of the torch faceso that the jets impinge upon the walls of the pipe sections in closerelation to the ends, succeeding orifices disposed to direct jetsfurther from the center region so that the jets therefrom direct heatoutwardly along the pipe walls away from the section ends beyond theportions affected by the preceding jets, and succeeding oriflcesdisposed at slightly different angles to project jets at said centerregion to attack the walls of said groove and the intersection of thegroove wall and the outer surface of the pipe section and theintermediate areas in graduated and successive relation.

4. A torch for welding circumferential seams formed by the abutting endsof pipe sections as the circumferential seam rotates with respect to thetorch, said torch having a curved face with jet orifices opening throughthe face at spaced points along the length of the face for directing aseamwise extending system of flame jets against the seam below thetorch, some of the orifices being disposed so that they slope downwardlyand toward the rearward end of the torch at acute angles to the face ofthe torch, and adapted to cause the fiame jets which they direct againstthe seam to force the molten metal of the seam to move with respect tothe pipe sections, and up the incline of the circumferential seam, inthe direction in which the seam moves with respect to the torch.

5. A torch for welding circumferential seams formed by the abutting endsof pipe sections as the circumferential seam rotates with respect to thetorch, said torch having a curved face with jet orifices opening throughthe face at spaced points along the length of the face for directing aseamwise extending system of flame jets against the seam, some of theorifices being disposed at acute angles to the torch face, and slopingdownwardly and toward the rearward end of the torch, and adapted tocause the flame jets directed against the seam by said sloping orificesto force the molten metal of the seam to move with respect to the pipesections, and up the incline of the circumferential seam, in thedirection in which the seam moves with respect to the torch, thesuccessive orifices lengthwise of the torch face being disposed todirect the flame jets at different points laterally of the regionunderlying the face of the torch to cause the jets to strike the metalat different points transversely of the seam.

6. A tip for circumferentially welding pipe sections positioned in endto end relation, relative motion of the sections and the tip beingeffected, which comprises: a body having a face with a plurality of jetorifices opening therefrom, the orifices being so disposed that theydirect flame jets at different angles, one pair of jet orifices near thefront of the torch being disposed at such an inclination that flame jetsissuing therefrom impinge upon the walls of the pipe sections under thetorch at an angle to the radius of the pipe sections and are directedacrossthe surface of the pipe sections in a direction substantiallyopposite to the direction of movement of the sections relative to thetip, said pair of flame jets being spaced away from the center line ofthe torch and disposed to strike the metal away from the ends of thesections, and succeeding pairs of jets disposedto direct fiame jets morenearly downward toward a region under the center of the torch wherebythe jets impinge upon the metal in successively closer relation to theends of the pipe sections.

7. A tip for circumferentially welding pipe sections, positioned in endto end relation, relative motion of the sections and the tip beingeffected, which comprises: a body having a face witha plurality of jetorifices opening therefrom and arranged in series, the first group oforifices being so disposed that flame jets issuing therefrom impingeupon the walls of the pipe sections at an angle to the radius of thepipe sections and are directed across the surface of the pipe sectionsin a direction substantially opposite to the direction of movement ofthe sections relative te the tip and spaced away from the ends of thesections, the succeeding orifices being spaced and disposed to directthe jets into a region more nearly under the center line of the torchface so that the jets therefrom impinge upon the metal in successivelycloser relation to the ends of the pipe sections, and the orificesthereafter being directed outwardly away from the center line of thetorch face so that the jets therefrom the seam edges to preheat saidedges, and successive openings for directing flame jets downward to weldthe seam below the torch, the torch face being curved to properly spacesucceeding jet openings from the curved surface of the pipe, and atleast one of the preheating jet openings at the forward end of thetorch, and only the preheating jet openings, being directed forward at asubstantial angle away from the radius of the curve of the torch face sothat said preheating jet opening delivers a preheating jet over an areaof the pipe in advance of the torch.

JAMES L. ANDERSON.

